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Eldorado - the dark side of gold by Anderson Schneider(46 images)
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  • An aerial view of the region where the gold mine is located, shot over the Amazon Forest, Brazil, on Tuesday, Apr. 10, 2007.In January 2007, after the news of gold spread out, 8,000 men arrived at the middle of nowhere in the Amazon forest, transforming what was once a jungle into a huge hole in the middle of the forest made of mud, diseases, exploitation and dreams of easy-richness. People from all over Brazil made this gold rush the Brazilian biggest one in the last 25 years. Very few really got rich, some found gold, but everybody else could only find the cruel, savage and sub-human work conditions of such environment, discovering under their own spilt blood and sweat how dark a dream can become. The place was known as Eldorado do Juma, a land without law, without sanitation and without anymore gold, where more than 2,000 people still work on bare-hands, struggling to find some tiny piece of metal - only enough to buy a back-home ticket. By photographer VIA - Visuals
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  • A family goes to the gold mining area, located near to Apui, Brazil, on Wednesday, Apr. 11, 2007. This trip takes around 3 hours across dirt roads and usually is made in the trunk of small trucks. Once the travellers reach the river, an one hour boat trip is required to arrive at the mining spot. In a regular day, 200 people make this trip..In January 2007, after the news of gold spread out, 8,000 men arrived at the middle of nowhere in the Amazon forest, transforming what was once a jungle into a huge hole in the middle of the forest made of mud, diseases, exploitation and dreams of easy-richness. People from all over Brazil made this gold rush the Brazilian biggest one in the last 25 years. Very few really got rich, some found gold, but everybody else could only find the cruel, savage and sub-human work conditions of such environment, discovering under their own spilt blood and sweat how dark a dream can become. The place was known as Eldorado do Juma, a land without law, without sanitation and without anymore gold, where more than 2,000 people still work on bare-hands, struggling to find some tiny piece of metal - only enough to buy a back-home ticket. By photographer VIA - Visuals
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  • Boats are being loaded with meat and prepared for the trip to the gold mining area, located near to Apui, Brazil, on Wednesday, Apr. 11, 2007. These boat trips are the only way to carry people, food, medicines, oil and water (all together, sometimes) to the mining spot. .In January 2007, after the news of gold spread out, 8,000 men arrived at the middle of nowhere in the Amazon forest, transforming what was once a jungle into a huge hole in the middle of the forest made of mud, diseases, exploitation and dreams of easy-richness. People from all over Brazil made this gold rush the Brazilian biggest one in the last 25 years. Very few really got rich, some found gold, but everybody else could only find the cruel, savage and sub-human work conditions of such environment, discovering under their own spilt blood and sweat how dark a dream can become. The place was known as Eldorado do Juma, a land without law, without sanitation and without anymore gold, where more than 2,000 people still work on bare-hands, struggling to find some tiny piece of metal - only enough to buy a back-home ticket. By photographer VIA - Visuals
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  • A worker carries on his back a sack of sand, mud and gravel to be panned in search for gold in a mining spot located near to Apui, Brazil, on Wednesday, Apr. 11, 2007. Most of the workers don't have a piece of land to explore, so they depend on gravel thrown away by landlords. If any gold is found, half of it must to be given back to the landlord. .In January 2007, after the news of gold spread out, 8,000 men arrived at the middle of nowhere in the Amazon forest, transforming what was once a jungle into a huge hole in the middle of the forest made of mud, diseases, exploitation and dreams of easy-richness. People from all over Brazil made this gold rush the Brazilian biggest one in the last 25 years. Very few really got rich, some found gold, but everybody else could only find the cruel, savage and sub-human work conditions of such environment, discovering under their own spilt blood and sweat how dark a dream can become. The place was known as Eldorado do Juma, a land without law, without sanitation and without anymore gold, where more than 2,000 people still work on bare-hands, struggling to find some tiny piece of metal - only enough to buy a back-home ticket. By photographer VIA - Visuals
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  • Men working on gold panning in a mining spot located near to Apui, Brazil, on Wednesday, Apr. 11, 2007. Most of the workers don't have a piece of land to explore, so they depend on gravel thrown away by landlords. If any gold is found, half of it must to be given back to the landlord. .In January 2007, after the news of gold spread out, 8,000 men arrived at the middle of nowhere in the Amazon forest, transforming what was once a jungle into a huge hole in the middle of the forest made of mud, diseases, exploitation and dreams of easy-richness. People from all over Brazil made this gold rush the Brazilian biggest one in the last 25 years. Very few really got rich, some found gold, but everybody else could only find the cruel, savage and sub-human work conditions of such environment, discovering under their own spilt blood and sweat how dark a dream can become. The place was known as Eldorado do Juma, a land without law, without sanitation and without anymore gold, where more than 2,000 people still work on bare-hands, struggling to find some tiny piece of metal - only enough to buy a back-home ticket. By photographer VIA - Visuals
    asviaeldora...jpg
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  • Men working on gold panning in a mining spot located near to Apui, Brazil, on Wednesday, Apr. 11, 2007. Most of the workers don't have a piece of land to explore, so they depend on gravel thrown away by landlords. If any gold is found, half of it must to be given back to the landlord. .In January 2007, after the news of gold spread out, 8,000 men arrived at the middle of nowhere in the Amazon forest, transforming what was once a jungle into a huge hole in the middle of the forest made of mud, diseases, exploitation and dreams of easy-richness. People from all over Brazil made this gold rush the Brazilian biggest one in the last 25 years. Very few really got rich, some found gold, but everybody else could only find the cruel, savage and sub-human work conditions of such environment, discovering under their own spilt blood and sweat how dark a dream can become. The place was known as Eldorado do Juma, a land without law, without sanitation and without anymore gold, where more than 2,000 people still work on bare-hands, struggling to find some tiny piece of metal - only enough to buy a back-home ticket. By photographer VIA - Visuals
    asviaeldora...jpg
    add to lightbox
  • Men working on gold panning in a mining spot located near to Apui, Brazil, on Wednesday, Apr. 11, 2007. Most of the workers don't have a piece of land to explore, so they depend on gravel thrown away by landlords. If any gold is found, half of it must to be given back to the landlord. .In January 2007, after the news of gold spread out, 8,000 men arrived at the middle of nowhere in the Amazon forest, transforming what was once a jungle into a huge hole in the middle of the forest made of mud, diseases, exploitation and dreams of easy-richness. People from all over Brazil made this gold rush the Brazilian biggest one in the last 25 years. Very few really got rich, some found gold, but everybody else could only find the cruel, savage and sub-human work conditions of such environment, discovering under their own spilt blood and sweat how dark a dream can become. The place was known as Eldorado do Juma, a land without law, without sanitation and without anymore gold, where more than 2,000 people still work on bare-hands, struggling to find some tiny piece of metal - only enough to buy a back-home ticket. By photographer VIA - Visuals
    asviaeldora...jpg
    add to lightbox
  • Men look for gold by washing the soil away with a heavy stream of water in a mining spot located near to Apui, Brazil, on Wednesday, Apr. 11, 2007. Water cannons are used to strip away entire hills of loose gravel, which are then run through a sluice in order to set the gold aside. This procedure is highly dangerous to the environment, causing mud in streams below the mining site and erosion damage at the site itself..In January 2007, after the news of gold spread out, 8,000 men arrived at the middle of nowhere in the Amazon forest, transforming what was once a jungle into a huge hole in the middle of the forest made of mud, diseases, exploitation and dreams of easy-richness. People from all over Brazil made this gold rush the Brazilian biggest one in the last 25 years. Very few really got rich, some found gold, but everybody else could only find the cruel, savage and sub-human work conditions of such environment, discovering under their own spilt blood and sweat how dark a dream can become. The place was known as Eldorado do Juma, a land without law, without sanitation and without anymore gold, where more than 2,000 people still work on bare-hands, struggling to find some tiny piece of metal - only enough to buy a back-home ticket. By photographer VIA - Visuals
    asviaeldora...jpg
    add to lightbox
  • Men remove sand, mud and gravel to be panned in search for gold in a mining spot located near to Apui, Brazil, on Thursday, Apr. 12, 2007. Most of the workers don't have a piece of land to explore, so they depend on permission from the landlords to dig. If any gold is found, half of it must to be given back to the owner of the piece of land. It's important to remark that landlords don't own the land by law; they simply arrived first and, under gunpoint, keep their "right" to explore the soil..In January 2007, after the news of gold spread out, 8,000 men arrived at the middle of nowhere in the Amazon forest, transforming what was once a jungle into a huge hole in the middle of the forest made of mud, diseases, exploitation and dreams of easy-richness. People from all over Brazil made this gold rush the Brazilian biggest one in the last 25 years. Very few really got rich, some found gold, but everybody else could only find the cruel, savage and sub-human work conditions of such environment, discovering under their own spilt blood and sweat how dark a dream can become. The place was known as Eldorado do Juma, a land without law, without sanitation and without anymore gold, where more than 2,000 people still work on bare-hands, struggling to find some tiny piece of metal - only enough to buy a back-home ticket. By photographer VIA - Visuals
    asviaeldora...jpg
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  • Men prepare to begin the night shift of work in a mining spot located near to Apui, Brazil, on Thursday, Apr. 12, 2007. As this gold mine is still illegal (only a research permit was issued), a plenty of fees are charged from the workers by landlords, corrupt policemen and government agents, in order to allow this clandestine gold extraction. Managing to escape from the heavy fees, some men work in secret all along the night..In January 2007, after the news of gold spread out, 8,000 men arrived at the middle of nowhere in the Amazon forest, transforming what was once a jungle into a huge hole in the middle of the forest made of mud, diseases, exploitation and dreams of easy-richness. People from all over Brazil made this gold rush the Brazilian biggest one in the last 25 years. Very few really got rich, some found gold, but everybody else could only find the cruel, savage and sub-human work conditions of such environment, discovering under their own spilt blood and sweat how dark a dream can become. The place was known as Eldorado do Juma, a land without law, without sanitation and without anymore gold, where more than 2,000 people still work on bare-hands, struggling to find some tiny piece of metal - only enough to buy a back-home ticket. By photographer VIA - Visuals
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  • Men try to fix the engine of a water cannon in a mining spot located near to Apui, Brazil, on Friday, Apr. 13, 2007. Water cannons are used to strip away entire hills of loose gravel, which are then run through a sluice in order to set the gold aside. This procedure is highly dangerous to the environment, causing mud in streams below the mining site and erosion damage at the site itself..In January 2007, after the news of gold spread out, 8,000 men arrived at the middle of nowhere in the Amazon forest, transforming what was once a jungle into a huge hole in the middle of the forest made of mud, diseases, exploitation and dreams of easy-richness. People from all over Brazil made this gold rush the Brazilian biggest one in the last 25 years. Very few really got rich, some found gold, but everybody else could only find the cruel, savage and sub-human work conditions of such environment, discovering under their own spilt blood and sweat how dark a dream can become. The place was known as Eldorado do Juma, a land without law, without sanitation and without anymore gold, where more than 2,000 people still work on bare-hands, struggling to find some tiny piece of metal - only enough to buy a back-home ticket. By photographer VIA - Visuals
    asviaeldora...jpg
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  • Man carries a piece of wood that will be used to build a dam for the discarded mud in a mining spot located near to Apui, Brazil, on Friday, Apr. 13, 2007. Water cannons are used to strip away entire hills of loose gravel, which are then run through a sluice in order to set the gold aside. This procedure is highly dangerous to the environment, causing mud in streams below the mining site and erosion damage at the site itself..In January 2007, after the news of gold spread out, 8,000 men arrived at the middle of nowhere in the Amazon forest, transforming what was once a jungle into a huge hole in the middle of the forest made of mud, diseases, exploitation and dreams of easy-richness. People from all over Brazil made this gold rush the Brazilian biggest one in the last 25 years. Very few really got rich, some found gold, but everybody else could only find the cruel, savage and sub-human work conditions of such environment, discovering under their own spilt blood and sweat how dark a dream can become. The place was known as Eldorado do Juma, a land without law, without sanitation and without anymore gold, where more than 2,000 people still work on bare-hands, struggling to find some tiny piece of metal - only enough to buy a back-home ticket. By photographer VIA - Visuals
    asviaeldora...jpg
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  • Water cannon operator in a mining spot located near to Apui, Brazil, on Friday, Apr. 13, 2007. Water cannons are used to strip away entire hills of loose gravel, which are then run through a sluice in order to set the gold aside. This procedure is highly dangerous to the environment, causing mud in streams below the mining site and erosion damage at the site itself..In January 2007, after the news of gold spread out, 8,000 men arrived at the middle of nowhere in the Amazon forest, transforming what was once a jungle into a huge hole in the middle of the forest made of mud, diseases, exploitation and dreams of easy-richness. People from all over Brazil made this gold rush the Brazilian biggest one in the last 25 years. Very few really got rich, some found gold, but everybody else could only find the cruel, savage and sub-human work conditions of such environment, discovering under their own spilt blood and sweat how dark a dream can become. The place was known as Eldorado do Juma, a land without law, without sanitation and without anymore gold, where more than 2,000 people still work on bare-hands, struggling to find some tiny piece of metal - only enough to buy a back-home ticket. By photographer VIA - Visuals
    asviaeldora...jpg
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  • Man takes a rest in a mining spot located near to Apui, Brazil, on Friday, Apr. 13, 2007. Most of the workers don't have a piece of land to explore, so they depend on permission from the landlords to dig and, in most of cases, they work only for food. If any gold is found, half of it must to be given back to the owner of the piece of land. It's important to remark that landlords don't own the land by law; they simply arrived first and, under gunpoint, keep their "right" to explore the soil..In January 2007, after the news of gold spread out, 8,000 men arrived at the middle of nowhere in the Amazon forest, transforming what was once a jungle into a huge hole in the middle of the forest made of mud, diseases, exploitation and dreams of easy-richness. People from all over Brazil made this gold rush the Brazilian biggest one in the last 25 years. Very few really got rich, some found gold, but everybody else could only find the cruel, savage and sub-human work conditions of such environment, discovering under their own spilt blood and sweat how dark a dream can become. The place was known as Eldorado do Juma, a land without law, without sanitation and without anymore gold, where more than 2,000 people still work on bare-hands, struggling to find some tiny piece of metal - only enough to buy a back-home ticket. By photographer VIA - Visuals
    asviaeldora...jpg
    add to lightbox
  • Worker in a mining spot located near to Apui, Brazil, on Friday, Apr. 13, 2007. Most of the workers don't have a piece of land to explore, so they depend on permission from the landlords to dig and, in most of cases, they work only for food. If any gold is found, half of it must to be given back to the owner of the piece of land. It's important to remark that landlords don't own the land by law; they simply arrived first and, under gunpoint, keep their "right" to explore the soil..In January 2007, after the news of gold spread out, 8,000 men arrived at the middle of nowhere in the Amazon forest, transforming what was once a jungle into a huge hole in the middle of the forest made of mud, diseases, exploitation and dreams of easy-richness. People from all over Brazil made this gold rush the Brazilian biggest one in the last 25 years. Very few really got rich, some found gold, but everybody else could only find the cruel, savage and sub-human work conditions of such environment, discovering under their own spilt blood and sweat how dark a dream can become. The place was known as Eldorado do Juma, a land without law, without sanitation and without anymore gold, where more than 2,000 people still work on bare-hands, struggling to find some tiny piece of metal - only enough to buy a back-home ticket. By photographer VIA - Visuals
    asviaeldora...jpg
    add to lightbox
  • Men smuggle a water cannon engine in a mining spot located near to Apui, Brazil, on Friday, Apr. 13, 2007. Water cannons are used to strip away entire hills of loose gravel and they are prohibited due to their high destructive power..In January 2007, after the news of gold spread out, 8,000 men arrived at the middle of nowhere in the Amazon forest, transforming what was once a jungle into a huge hole in the middle of the forest made of mud, diseases, exploitation and dreams of easy-richness. People from all over Brazil made this gold rush the Brazilian biggest one in the last 25 years. Very few really got rich, some found gold, but everybody else could only find the cruel, savage and sub-human work conditions of such environment, discovering under their own spilt blood and sweat how dark a dream can become. The place was known as Eldorado do Juma, a land without law, without sanitation and without anymore gold, where more than 2,000 people still work on bare-hands, struggling to find some tiny piece of metal - only enough to buy a back-home ticket. By photographer VIA - Visuals
    asviaeldora...jpg
    add to lightbox
  • Men watch tv after a day of work in a mining spot located near to Apui, Brazil, on Friday, Apr. 13, 2007. Life conditions at this mine are considerably bad: people live in makeshift plastic tents without fresh water, sewage, bathrooms and the only electricity available comes from small diesel generators. As a consequence, the rates for infections, food poisoning, diarrhea and pneumonia are substantially high..In January 2007, after the news of gold spread out, 8,000 men arrived at the middle of nowhere in the Amazon forest, transforming what was once a jungle into a huge hole in the middle of the forest made of mud, diseases, exploitation and dreams of easy-richness. People from all over Brazil made this gold rush the Brazilian biggest one in the last 25 years. Very few really got rich, some found gold, but everybody else could only find the cruel, savage and sub-human work conditions of such environment, discovering under their own spilt blood and sweat how dark a dream can become. The place was known as Eldorado do Juma, a land without law, without sanitation and without anymore gold, where more than 2,000 people still work on bare-hands, struggling to find some tiny piece of metal - only enough to buy a back-home ticket. By photographer VIA - Visuals
    asviaeldora...jpg
    add to lightbox
  • Men working in the night shift in a mining spot located near to Apui, Brazil, on Friday, Apr. 13, 2007. As this gold mine is still illegal (only a research permit was issued), a plenty of fees are charged from the workers by landlords, corrupt policemen and government agents, in order to allow this clandestine gold extraction. Managing to escape from the heavy fees, some men work in secret all along the night..In January 2007, after the news of gold spread out, 8,000 men arrived at the middle of nowhere in the Amazon forest, transforming what was once a jungle into a huge hole in the middle of the forest made of mud, diseases, exploitation and dreams of easy-richness. People from all over Brazil made this gold rush the Brazilian biggest one in the last 25 years. Very few really got rich, some found gold, but everybody else could only find the cruel, savage and sub-human work conditions of such environment, discovering under their own spilt blood and sweat how dark a dream can become. The place was known as Eldorado do Juma, a land without law, without sanitation and without anymore gold, where more than 2,000 people still work on bare-hands, struggling to find some tiny piece of metal - only enough to buy a back-home ticket. By photographer VIA - Visuals
    asviaeldora...jpg
    add to lightbox
  • Agostinho Alves Barbosa has a brief break in the night shift in a mining spot located near to Apui, Brazil, on Friday, Apr. 13, 2007. As this gold mine is still illegal (only a research permit was issued), a plenty of fees are charged from the workers by landlords, corrupt policemen and government agents, in order to allow this clandestine gold extraction. Managing to escape from the heavy fees, some men work in secret all along the night..In January 2007, after the news of gold spread out, 8,000 men arrived at the middle of nowhere in the Amazon forest, transforming what was once a jungle into a huge hole in the middle of the forest made of mud, diseases, exploitation and dreams of easy-richness. People from all over Brazil made this gold rush the Brazilian biggest one in the last 25 years. Very few really got rich, some found gold, but everybody else could only find the cruel, savage and sub-human work conditions of such environment, discovering under their own spilt blood and sweat how dark a dream can become. The place was known as Eldorado do Juma, a land without law, without sanitation and without anymore gold, where more than 2,000 people still work on bare-hands, struggling to find some tiny piece of metal - only enough to buy a back-home ticket. By photographer VIA - Visuals
    asviaeldora...jpg
    add to lightbox
  • Men working in the night shift in a mining spot located near to Apui, Brazil, on Friday, Apr. 13, 2007. As this gold mine is still illegal (only a research permit was issued), a plenty of fees are charged from the workers by landlords, corrupt policemen and government agents, in order to allow this clandestine gold extraction. Managing to escape from the heavy fees, some men work in secret all along the night..In January 2007, after the news of gold spread out, 8,000 men arrived at the middle of nowhere in the Amazon forest, transforming what was once a jungle into a huge hole in the middle of the forest made of mud, diseases, exploitation and dreams of easy-richness. People from all over Brazil made this gold rush the Brazilian biggest one in the last 25 years. Very few really got rich, some found gold, but everybody else could only find the cruel, savage and sub-human work conditions of such environment, discovering under their own spilt blood and sweat how dark a dream can become. The place was known as Eldorado do Juma, a land without law, without sanitation and without anymore gold, where more than 2,000 people still work on bare-hands, struggling to find some tiny piece of metal - only enough to buy a back-home ticket. By photographer VIA - Visuals
    asviaeldora...jpg
    add to lightbox
  • After a whole night of work, a man holds desolated a piece of wasted soil in a mining spot located near to Apui, Brazil, on Friday, Apr. 13, 2007. As this gold mine is still illegal (only a research permit was issued), a plenty of fees are charged from the workers by landlords, corrupt policemen and government agents, in order to allow this clandestine gold extraction. Managing to escape from the heavy fees, some men work in secret all along the night..In January 2007, after the news of gold spread out, 8,000 men arrived at the middle of nowhere in the Amazon forest, transforming what was once a jungle into a huge hole in the middle of the forest made of mud, diseases, exploitation and dreams of easy-richness. People from all over Brazil made this gold rush the Brazilian biggest one in the last 25 years. Very few really got rich, some found gold, but everybody else could only find the cruel, savage and sub-human work conditions of such environment, discovering under their own spilt blood and sweat how dark a dream can become. The place was known as Eldorado do Juma, a land without law, without sanitation and without anymore gold, where more than 2,000 people still work on bare-hands, struggling to find some tiny piece of metal - only enough to buy a back-home ticket. By photographer VIA - Visuals
    asviaeldora...jpg
    add to lightbox
  • Tents in a mining spot located near to Apui, Brazil, on Saturday, Apr. 14, 2007. Life conditions at this mine are considerably bad: people live in makeshift plastic shelters without fresh water, sewage, bathrooms and the only electricity available comes from small diesel generators. As a consequence, the rates for infections, food poisoning, diarrhea and pneumonia are substantially high..In January 2007, after the news of gold spread out, 8,000 men arrived at the middle of nowhere in the Amazon forest, transforming what was once a jungle into a huge hole in the middle of the forest made of mud, diseases, exploitation and dreams of easy-richness. People from all over Brazil made this gold rush the Brazilian biggest one in the last 25 years. Very few really got rich, some found gold, but everybody else could only find the cruel, savage and sub-human work conditions of such environment, discovering under their own spilt blood and sweat how dark a dream can become. The place was known as Eldorado do Juma, a land without law, without sanitation and without anymore gold, where more than 2,000 people still work on bare-hands, struggling to find some tiny piece of metal - only enough to buy a back-home ticket. By photographer VIA - Visuals
    asviaeldora...jpg
    add to lightbox
  • Men look for gold by washing the soil away with a heavy stream of water in a mining spot located near to Apui, Brazil, on Saturday, Apr. 14, 2007. Water cannons are used to strip away entire hills of loose gravel, which are then run through a sluice in order to set the gold aside. This procedure is highly dangerous to the environment, causing mud in streams below the mining site and erosion damage at the site itself..In January 2007, after the news of gold spread out, 8,000 men arrived at the middle of nowhere in the Amazon forest, transforming what was once a jungle into a huge hole in the middle of the forest made of mud, diseases, exploitation and dreams of easy-richness. People from all over Brazil made this gold rush the Brazilian biggest one in the last 25 years. Very few really got rich, some found gold, but everybody else could only find the cruel, savage and sub-human work conditions of such environment, discovering under their own spilt blood and sweat how dark a dream can become. The place was known as Eldorado do Juma, a land without law, without sanitation and without anymore gold, where more than 2,000 people still work on bare-hands, struggling to find some tiny piece of metal - only enough to buy a back-home ticket. By photographer VIA - Visuals
    asviaeldora...jpg
    add to lightbox
  • Men remove sand, mud and gravel to be panned in search for gold in a mining spot located near to Apui, Brazil, on Saturday, Apr. 14, 2007. Most of the workers don't have a piece of land to explore, so they depend on permission from the landlords to dig. If any gold is found, half of it must to be given back to the owner of the piece of land. It's important to remark that landlords don't own the land by law; they simply arrived first and, under gunpoint, keep their "right" to explore..In January 2007, after the news of gold spread out, 8,000 men arrived at the middle of nowhere in the Amazon forest, transforming what was once a jungle into a huge hole in the middle of the forest made of mud, diseases, exploitation and dreams of easy-richness. People from all over Brazil made this gold rush the Brazilian biggest one in the last 25 years. Very few really got rich, some found gold, but everybody else could only find the cruel, savage and sub-human work conditions of such environment, discovering under their own spilt blood and sweat how dark a dream can become. The place was known as Eldorado do Juma, a land without law, without sanitation and without anymore gold, where more than 2,000 people still work on bare-hands, struggling to find some tiny piece of metal - only enough to buy a back-home ticket. By photographer VIA - Visuals
    asviaeldora...jpg
    add to lightbox
  • A man prepares to begin the night shift of work in a mining spot located near to Apui, Brazil, on Saturday, Apr. 14, 2007. As this gold mine is still illegal (only a research permit was issued), the work can be interrupted anytime by the government agents. This uncertainness makes some men to dig 24 hours a day, afraid of the day they will no longer be allowed to work..In January 2007, after the news of gold spread out, 8,000 men arrived at the middle of nowhere in the Amazon forest, transforming what was once a jungle into a huge hole in the middle of the forest made of mud, diseases, exploitation and dreams of easy-richness. People from all over Brazil made this gold rush the Brazilian biggest one in the last 25 years. Very few really got rich, some found gold, but everybody else could only find the cruel, savage and sub-human work conditions of such environment, discovering under their own spilt blood and sweat how dark a dream can become. The place was known as Eldorado do Juma, a land without law, without sanitation and without anymore gold, where more than 2,000 people still work on bare-hands, struggling to find some tiny piece of metal - only enough to buy a back-home ticket. By photographer VIA - Visuals
    asviaeldora...jpg
    add to lightbox


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